Gray Matter
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: When a human boy is fatally injured by a prototype android, he becomes the greatest cyborg in history; Mega Man. Between directives, free will, and blurred worldviews, more than bones and trust will be broken before the end of this story... An AU that took a lot of preparation and research, reviews are always welcomed.
1. Activation

Some where in the world, a small series of islands dubbed New Eden was founded by several lost pilgrims. New Eden was a paradise; the waters were blue, no matter what season it was, and the plant life was rich and beautiful because of the volcanic soil that helped shape the islands. The pilgrims were in love with the new world around them, and built a new life for themselves. It took several years, but trade was soon established between New Eden and the rest of the world, and in turn; tourists.  
New Eden was perfect, a true paradise in the middle of no where.  
But there is no such thing as a true paradise. And as with its namesake, New Eden fell into evil. It took many years, but there happened to come a man named Thomas Hikari and his colleage Albert Wiley. These two men met each other at a famed robotic school, and they were friends, in some sense. Hikari mastered in programming, Wiley mastered in engineering. These two, with their combined talents, decided to create a robot perfectly capable of looking, feeling, seeing, sensing, and thinking just like a human.  
Their first prototype was called Proto Man, and they were about to activate him. After that, the rest became history.

- - -  
He didn't know much at that point. The table he sat on was cold, that was something.  
"All basic systems are functioning." a man's voice said from somewhere near him. The voice was aged, like it belonged to someone over fifty years old.  
"Heart and breathing patterns are stable." another man's voice said, this one much more gruff than the first. It sounded almost as old though, plus or minus two years maybe.  
"He should be able to hear us now." the first voice said. "Are the optics functioning now Albert? Everything else is fine."  
"Not yet, we don't have the eyeball covering to protect the main optics." the gruff voice said.  
"Turn them on any way." the first voice said, hinting with signs of anger.  
"But Thomas, if we do that, if he goes outside then..."  
"Do it Albert!"  
There was a hardened sigh, then there was a bright white light. He had to block it for a moment, but it was darkened a little as his sight adjusted.  
"Proto Man, look at me." the gruff voice told him. He turned his head to scan the room. He stopped when he saw two men in white lab coats. One of the men had a white beard and pompadour styled hair. The other had a gray mustache and hair that was bald in the middle of his head, but was rather wild on the sides and back.  
"Good job Proto Man." the man with the gray hair said, being the one with the gruff voice. The man with the while hair simply nodded.  
"Who are you android?" the white haired man asked, having the voice that was first heard.  
"I am Proto Man." he said. "I am a creation of Doctor Thomas Hikari and Doctor Albert Wiley."  
"As it should be." the white haired man said.  
"Do you know who we are?" the gray haired man asked. Proto Man nodded.  
"You are Doctor Albert Wiley." the android said, pointing to the gray haired man.  
"You are Doctor Thomas Hikari." he continued, pointing to the white haired man.  
"Good." the gray haired man agreed with a nod. At this, Proto Man smiled, a sense of feeling accomplishment filled him. If he had known there was a difference between him and a human, he wouldn't have noticed it.  
For a moment, Proto looked from Hikari to Wiley, not sure what to do next. Likewise, Hikari and Wiley were contemplating what they were going to do with their creation.  
"We need to cover the optic lenses Thomas." Dr Wiley finally said.  
"Then find something." Hikari said, simply waving his hand as if it were nothing. Proto Man looked curiously as Dr Wiley seemed to have said something under his breath before looking around for something. He found a pair of tactical sunglasses on a workbench.  
"Try these on." Wiley said, handing Proto Man the glasses. Curiously, the robot took the glasses and placed them on his face. At first, the tint in the glasses made the world dark again, but his eyes adjusted to this like they had to the bright light. Soon the world was as colorful as it had been before.

"Amazing, his vision corrected itself so that it could still see properly, even with the tinted glasses." Dr Wiley said, noticing the readings on a monitor of Proto's progress so far.

"Am I perfect?" Proto Man then asked. "Am I everything you two have worked hard for?"

Hikari and Wiley gave Proto Man the same shocked look.

"So far." Dr Hikari told the android. "You are the most brilliant and perfect robot we have created yet. You have exceeded all of our expectations, we are proud of you."

Proto Man smiled to hear this. He was perfect. But he was still new, and he still had a lot to learn.


	2. Malfunction

**A few days later...**

Proto Man whistled happily as he cleaned up around Dr Hikari and Dr Wiley's laboratory. A robotic dog that was built before him called Rush, was happily wagging his tail at Proto Man's feet. Hikari looked on, monitoring his creation's actions with great interest.  
"Where did you learn that tune you're whistling?" Hikari finally asked.  
"I created it myself." Proto told him, smiling wide to show how proud he was of himself. "Do you like it?"  
Hikari nodded, almost absentmindedly.  
"Interesting." he said. To interrupt his thoughts, Dr Wiley entered the laboratory.  
"Time for bedtime Proto Man." the robotist said. "Come, I'll show you how to brush your teeth."  
Proto stopped what he was doing and went to join Wiley. Hikari looked on, stroking his beard in thought. If a robotic creation had a sense of 'creating' something without instruction... that could mean...  
Dr Hikari smiled. His creation had free will.

Proto Man watched dutifully as Wiley brushed his teeth, to show the android the procedure before he went on to do it himself. Proto watched as Wiley rinsed and spit the toothpaste in his mouth into the sink.  
"Now it is your turn." Dr Wiley told Proto Man. Proto nodded, happy to do a simple human task. How hard could it be?  
Proto took a new toothbrush from Dr Wiley, put a little toothpaste on it, then starting to brush his teeth. Dr Wiley looked on, observing the android. But suddenly, Proto Man's wrist sparked as the android continued to brush his teeth. At first, Proto Man ignored this, but it happened again, making Proto drop the toothbrush into the sink.  
"What is wrong Proto Man?" Dr Wiley asked, getting ready to take a note on the clipboard he had brought with him.  
"I'm not sure..." Proto responded, checking all of his system software. "I am perfectly operational."  
"That is what I thought." the robotist said to himself. Curiously, he went to get a hairbrush and handed it to Proto Man.  
"Can you brush your hair for me?" Wiley asked.  
"Of course sir." Proto said with a confident smile. The android took the hairbrush and started to carefully brush out his synthetic but lifelike hair. Again, he sparked, but this time something bad happened.  
Proto Man sparked again, this time much bigger than the last few times. He dropped the hairbrush in surprise and a sudden feeling of fear. Suddenly, his arm morphed into a cannon barrel shaped gun. In surprise of this revelation, Dr Wiley jumped back in shock.  
"What in the world..." the robotist started to say, but Proto Man sparked again, causing the gun to fire haphazardly. Instantly, Wiley took cover on the ground. Slowly and eventually, the gun stopped firing.  
Worn out from the mass loss of energy in a short period of time, Proto looked at his arm gun then looked at Wiley.  
"What am I?" the android asked, sounding scared. Wiley carefully stood up again, but said nothing, only shaking his head in disdain.  
"I knew it was too good to be true..." Wiley said to himself. Proto looked at him, afraid.

"He is flawed Thomas." Dr Wiley finished saying to Dr Hikari. "The most simple of human tasks he can not do. He can and will short out, and shorting out activates his defense systems."

Proto Man sat on the same operating table he had laid on when he was first activated. He was starting to fear the worse now.

"We can not allow him to be an advocate for world peace if he is that flawed!" Wiley continued. Hikari said nothing, instead stroking his beard in thought. Then he nodded.

"We will have to revisit the blueprints, perhaps we overlooked something..."

"Of course we overlooked something!" Wiley snapped. "That weapon was not part of them!"

Proto Man looked at his hand gun. It was still a gun instead of his hand. Just looking at it made him ashamed. A thought ran through Proto's mind, it wasn't a good one and it had to be done when no one was looking, but it was better than what could have happened now that it was discovered he was a horrible weapon of destruction.

"We need to do something about... THAT!" Wiley then said, pointing in direction of Proto's gun. This made the android feel even worse.

"I'll think of something in the morning." Hikari finally said. "For now, we will sleep."

Dr Wiley looked as if he was going to say something more, but he did not, and left the laboratory in a huff. Hikari then turned to Proto Man.

"Rest." he told the android.

"But I can't." Proto told his creator. "I'm afraid."

Hikari looked at Proto Man.

"What did you just say?" the scientist asked.

"I'm afraid." Proto Man repeated.

For a moment, Hikari continued to look at the android.

Free will... true emotions... this is what he had worked so hard for, but now what? The android was still imperfect. What if... Could it even be possible?

"Go to sleep Proto Man." Hikari told the android.

"I will try to sir." the android responded. With a stiff nod, Hikari left the laboratory. Proto Man waited an hour and a half, to make sure that both robotists were asleep, then made his escape.


	3. Alliances

"He's gone!"  
Dr Wiley was the first one awake that morning, and he was the first one to notice that Proto Man had escaped in the night.  
"Perhaps," Dr Hikari said, speaking his thoughts as he looked over the android's blueprints, "If we had used a human, instead of building from scratch, then he would not have short circuited..."  
Wiley turned to look at Hikari.  
"Short circuiting? An android that looks and acts like a human being that shorts out when it is introduced to menial human activities escapes from the lab and all you can think about is SHORT CIRCUITING?! Thomas, he could hurt thousands!"  
Hikari looked at Wiley.  
"Then go find it." Hikari said in a low tone. For a moment, the men stared at each other.  
"I'm not coming back." Wiley finally said. "And if I do, it will be to destroy you."  
Hikari took a step back in shock and anger.  
"How _dare_ you speak to me like that!" Dr Hikari thundered. "We are partners!"  
"Not any more!" Dr Wiley proclaimed. "You're a mad man Thomas Hikari, all of your creations are weapons of mass destruction! You need to be stopped, and I'll be the one to do it!"  
"You designed those robots with me!" Hikari shouted in rebuttal.  
"But I didn't give them weapons!" Wiley thundered back before taking his leave. Hikari stood where he was, fuming in anger and hatred. If this was how it was going to be, fine. Two could play at this game...

Getting as far away as he could from the laboratory was the only agenda on his mind. He had also found it rather lucky that he was given normal clothes, so that the humans did not cringe to see him in what they called 'nude.'  
By sunrise, he was in a new town. But he didn't stop going though. Eventually, though, he did slow down and looked to see where he had wandered. He found that he had entered a housing development. In the distance, Proto could hear the sounds of some kids playing. Curious, Proto Man started to get closer to the sounds of the kids playing. There he saw them; a boy and a girl on their bikes, simply cruising down to the end of their street while exchanging some rather casual dialog. Cautiously, Proto started to get closer.  
With a better look at the two, Proto Man could see that the boy had spiky brown hair, a light skin tone, and dark blue eyes. The girl, on the other hand, had neat, flat hair held up in a ponytail, a similar skin tone to the boy's, and light blue eyes. Proto tried to move his neck in such a way so that he could see both of them better, but he lost his balance, making his presence known quickly and abruptly. Both the boy and girl looked at him as his face grew red in embarrassment.  
"Hey!" the girl said getting off of her bike casually, as if she was unfazed by Proto Man's sudden appearance. "Hey you!"  
Slowly, Proto stood up, and was about to run away, but the girl called him again.  
"Come here, I wanna talk to you!"  
Finding no other way out, Proto turned around and started to walk toward the boy and girl.  
"I've never seen you around here before." the girl said, looking Proto up and down, head to toe. "What were you doing in Miss Bonne's box bushes? She doesn't like it when people mess up her gardening."  
"Well... I..." Proto tried to say, but wasn't sure of what to say. Thinking possible scenarios through, he figured the truth wouldn't be a bad way to start.  
"I ran away from home." he told the boy and girl.  
"What made you do that?" the boy asked, moving closer toward the girl in a subconscious act of protecting her if he needed to.  
To this, Proto Man didn't know how to respond. The girl continued to look at him. Something about her made Proto Man feel... weird. Like he was being probed or something. It felt odd, but something about it made it seem... normal?

"Do you want to ride with us?" the girl finally asked in a curious tone, tilting her head to the side in a wondering sort of way. Proto looked at her, wary of how open she was with him. Couldn't she see that he wasn't human? He looked at her and the boy that was with her, hoping that maybe her friend would say something. He didn't though, and it began to make Proto nervous. The looks that boy was giving him...  
"You only have two bikes." Proto pointed out. For a moment, the girl thought about it and frowned. But she quickly got an idea.  
"I have a pair of roller skates in my backpack." she told him, I can use those and you can borrow my bike. What'cha think Roch?"  
To this statement, the attention was given to the boy.  
"I don't mind Nico." the boy admitted, although his facial expression suggested something else. "I just think it would be nice if we got to where we're going before we have to turn around again to come home."  
Proto suddenly felt very happy. These kids didn't see a difference between him and one of their own. It meant he could belong. It meant he could make friends.  
"But before you come with us, we need to ask you one question." the girl told him.  
"What?" Proto asked, a sudden pit fall in his stomach overwhelming him.  
"What's your name?" the boy and girl asked at the same time. Proto smiled, happy it wasn't something about his true nature.  
"I'm Pro..." he started to say, then reconsidered it, "My name is Landiao."  
"That's a nice name." the girl said, smiling sweetly at him. Proto smiled back as well, she was kind of cute when she smiled... for a human, that is.


	4. Peace is Just a Word

It was so much fun spending time with Nico and Roch. It made Proto feel... human.  
Until Nico handed him an ice cream cone. Apparently, the place Nico and Roch wanted to go so badly was a local ice cream shop, who was having a summer sale on their ice cream for a certain amount of time.

"Have some." she said, reminding him of his true nature as if she had pushed him off a cliff. She wasn't aware of that though, and smiled at him sweetly. As much as he enjoyed seeing her smile, it was starting to wear a bit thin as he felt that she was manipulating him. But there was something trusting in that smile, something that assured him that maybe he wouldn't glitch out this time...  
"Thank you." he said, smiling back at her.  
"No problem." she said back, giving him the ice cream.  
For a few moments, Proto looked at the treat, then he finally took a cautious lick. Apparently, Wiley and Hikari had given him a good sensory replacement for taste, because that sugary dessert was so wonderfully sweet that Proto had finished it before Nico or Roch could finish theirs.  
"You practically inhaled that ice cream." Roch told Proto, almost admiringly.  
"It was really good." Proto replied, not noticing that his words were starting to run faster that usual. Then, suddenly, Proto sparked. Nico and Roch looked at him, not quite sure of what they had just seen. When he realized that they were looking at him, the simulated fear started to seep in as Proto sparked again, this time bigger.  
"Are... are you okay Landiao?" Roch asked, reaching over to touch Proto's arm.  
"Get back!" Proto demanded, jumping away from Roch as Proto's arm turned into a blaster akin to a bomb cannon. Roch and Nico reacted by jumping back in surprise and fear.  
"What... are you?" Nico asked, her voice trembling. Proto looked at her in fear and remorse. Suddenly, he sparked again, this time causing his blaster to fire multiple rounds at once. One of these rounds shot Roch in the heart. Instantly, the human boy was down on the ground, fatally injured. Proto shook his head in despair and fear as Nico bent down to check the status of her friend. Roch, his body in much pain, looked at Nico and smiled.  
"You are... my first friend." Roch said, his voice fading away as his life, too, faded, "You... you gave me funny feelings whenever... whenever I saw you. It was like... like caterpillars growing into butterflies, right here, in my stomach... And you know what? It... it was wonderful."  
Proto started to back away, knowing full well that these were Roch's last words. Nico looked up and saw Proto as he ran.  
"No!" Nico pleaded, still at Roch side. "Come back Landiao... or whoever you are! You're still our friend!"  
For a moment, Proto froze. But as if to prove something, he sparked again.  
"I'm sorry Nico, but I never should have been."  
And with that, he was gone.

. . .

He would never admit to being old. Ever. But that robotic dog whose software predated that needed to create Proto Man was a lot faster than what Dr Wiley would give credit for. He wasn't old, nah, Rush just ran faster than him, that's all.  
It was a good thing, in hindsight, that Rush was given a smelling ability more greater than what a normal dog would have. Following an invisible trail, Rush went the ways Proto Man had hours before, leading Dr Wiley to the creation gone rouge. Maybe there should be a new term for such robots, the ones that went against programming or general expectations.  
Perhaps 'maverick'; A noun defined as 'a person or individual that does not go along with the rules or customs of a group or party.' It sounded fitting enough, yes?  
Wiley shook his head. This was no time to give something a new term. Suddenly, to affirm the task at hand, Rush picked up his ears, as if he could hear something Dr Wiley could not and started to run faster. Picking up his own pace, Wiley ran behind Rush as fast as he could, until he saw a sight he hoped to never see again.  
A boy was on the ground, fatally injured and blood pooling around him. A girl was bent over him, suppressing the urge to cry. He'd be alright, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he?  
Rush continued toward the scene, obeying the Three Laws embedded into him. Wiley stood behind, already knowing what had caused this crisis to occur. Wiley watched as the robotic dog approached the children. The girl looked at the dog, and realized that it could be used for help. Rush then extended its body to act as a stretcher for the girl to place the boy on, and she did so gingerly. Wiley watched as she said something to the boy, then Rush extended itself a little more for a spot for her. Surprised at this revelation, but rather joyous, the girl carefully positioned herself on this newly extended portion and told the dog to go.  
Although Wiley knew that Rush would take the children to a safe place for the boy to either heal or die; a sudden pit entered his stomach when he realized something. Rush was going to take the children to Thomas. The robotist was going to have a human to place into a human exoskeleton. Realizing this, Dr Wiley understood that he should have intervened. It was too late to change the past now. Quite naturally, it only made Wiley more determined to destroy Hikari now.


	5. Mega Man

Nico was going on blind faith at this point. What other choice did she have, really? Although she didn't truly know where the robotic dog had come from, she had a good feeling that it would take Roch to get help. But she did admit to being angry and confused when the dog took them to a white house.  
Knowing where to go, the dog went around back and found a cellar door. Knowing that she didn't to help the dog, Nico got off and opened the door. Without a moment's hesitation, the dog ran down the stairs, leaving Nico behind. Reacting as quick as she could, Nico raced down the stairs after the dog. When she reached the basement, she stood there in awe.  
The dog had led them to a laboratory.  
Nico looked around, searching for some sign of life besides herself, her dying friend, and the robotic dog that had helped them. She did find someone, it was an old man that looked a bit like Santa Claus, but was he as friendly?  
As the dog put Roch onto an operating table that would not have been out of place for a Frankenstein film, Nico carefully approached the man. He was buried in some design or blueprint, saying things under his breath that Nico wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear or not.  
"Sir?" she asked. The man paused, looked up then at her.  
"Who are you?" he asked, "And what are you doing in my laboratory?"  
"I'm sorry sir," Nico apologized, almost full heartingly, "But my friend was hurt by this robot... thing, and a robotic dog brought us to you. Please sir, can you help Roch? He's going to die soon."  
The man looked at Nico, then at the operating table. His eyes grew wide before he looked at Nico again.  
"We need to act fast." the man told her, holding her by the shoulders before taking off toward the operating table at a high speed. Nico gave a sigh of relief as the man started to quickly prep the area for something that looked akin to an operation.  
"Just one question," the man said, taking a moment to look at her. "You would not mind if he was... part robot, would you?"  
"I just don't want him to die." Nico said, her mouth speaking before her mind could consider.  
"Perfect." the man said, giving a smile that suddenly sent a chill up her spine.

. . .

For several hours, Nico passed glances at the man's progress with Roch. Before he had started, he had told her a little about himself. His name was Doctor Thomas Hikari, a robotist that had one goal; world peace. It seemed decent enough, but a certain air around him made her feel a bit uneasy talking to him.

For the hours she waited, Nico tried not to look at what the robotist was doing to her friend. Biology was not a subject she enjoyed the most. Instead, Nico cautiously looked around the laboratory. She could have tried to make friends with the dog that had brought her and Roch to the lab to begin with, but it was gone without so much a notice that she didn't even realize it had left.

One of the most prominent things Nico noticed were the blueprints of several robots; all created to replace certain human activities, just as log cutting or underwater welding. The ideas seemed rather brilliant to her, and she secretly began to hope that she could see a few of them in action some time. It was in the act of looking of these blueprints that she saw a figure of something familiar. Curious, Nico looked closer at the blueprint. At the top, it was labeled 'Proto Man' but she realized that the figure was Landiao's.

"Proto Man..." she said to herself in thought, "So that's who you are..."

Unconsciously, she smiled as she read over the blueprints, getting to know her friend a little more. Reading the blueprints took some skill, however, she wasn't a robotist on the same level of Hikari, but she could understand a term or two. She found that Landiao, or Proto Man as his blueprints point out, was designed to be a human. An android, in short, even with the ability to age to approximately twenty years old cosmetically. But for now, his aging system starts at fifteen, the same age she and Roch were. That's when Nico spotting something really interesting. But Hikari interrupted his thoughts.

"Come here Roru," he said, using her last name instead of her first, "Your friend will live, but I would like to talk to you first."

Nico took on last look at the blueprints, then went over to the operating table. Roch was almost unrecognizable, if it hadn't been that his face was still in one piece. The rest of his body however... Well, it was easier to say that he looked more robotic than human now.

"What did you do to him?" Nico asked Hikari, not sure whether the be angry right now.

"Roch's body was failing at a rapid pace, so I needed to give him a new one. It was what I had to do to keep him alive, isn't that what you wanted?"

Nico didn't answer. Something about the form of Roch's new body looked so familiar...

"Will he be alright?" she asked Dr. Hikari.  
"Yes, he is showing signs of functioning properly." the old man agreed. "But in any case, the world is still too dangerous for two children. I want you to take this."  
Nico looked at him with a weird glance as he pulled out a gold bracelet with a single blue aquamarine in the center.  
"A bracelet?" she asked, confused and slightly wary.  
"Not just any bracelet." Dr. Hikari told her, putting it on her wrist. "Press that jewel there."  
Nico looked at him, then cautiously did as she was told. The bracelet made itself tighter around her wrist and started to lengthen to resemble a hand gun that Roch would have, as shown on the blueprints.  
"That is the Multiple Weapon Disposal Device," Hikari explained to her, "If your friend ever needs help in battle or is incapable, the device will help you defend him until you two can get to safer ground."  
Nico lowered and raised the device, getting a good feel for it. Then she pressed a button that looked like the aquamarine and the weapon retracted back into the bracelet.  
"Thank you Doctor." Nico thanked, not sure why he was giving this to her exactly. Hikari simply smiled at her in an ambiguous way that did not help how she was feeling about it right now.

Then, from the operating table, Roch began to stir.

"I'll... I'll be... all right..." Roch said in a sleepy daze, "And I'm... I'm going to die... Both are... both are true..."

"Mega Man, wake up." Hikari ordered in an authoritative tone. Instantly, Roch's eyes flew open, making Nico jump back on shock. The cyborg looked around the room in curiosity, then he looked at Nico and smiled.

"Hey Nico." Roch said, as if nothing had happened. "Remember that Frita's is having a summer sale tomorrow on their ice cream. I know you've waited all school year for it!"

Nico only stared at him.

"Mega Man," Hikari said, "I want you to take your old friend Roru and go have some ice cream, my treat. You need to get used to being in your new body. Understood?"

Roch, now renamed Mega Man, nodded his head.

"Yes sir." the cyborg said without hesitation. Nico only continued to stare.

Well... she got what she wished for...


	6. Directive

Several days passed since the day Roch became Mega Man. And to her own horror, Nico realized she wasn't happy with this. She had her old friend, didn't she? So why didn't she feel happy that he was still with her and not six feet under?

_Because it isn't the Roch you know._ A tiny voice said from inside her. _The boy you see is not the one you knew, he wasn't the one you loved..._

Now he was calling her Roru all the time now too, just like Hikari did. It annoyed her, it annoyed her a lot.

"Roru, we need to go see Dr Hikari." Mega Man told her.

"Why, what's wrong?" she asked as a feeling of suspicion and worry filled her.

"I'm not sure." the cyborg admitted, "But I have this odd feeling..."

Although she didn't understand, Nico nodded her head.

"Let's go see Dr Hikari." she agreed.

. . .

"You children have wonderful timing." Hikari said as Mega Man and Nico came into his laboratory.

"What's the matter sir?" Mega Man asked, not wasting a beat.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Nico asked as well, "You seem rather nervous."

"Thank you for understanding," Hikari told the children, "My once colleague, Doctor Albert Wiley has recently stolen many of my original robotic creations. These robots were made to do human activities and jobs that are normally deemed too dangerous for an average being. Such as a log cutter, or an underwater welder, perhaps even ice cutters in the much more colder atmospheres where no man can go without serious biological issues rising."

"Those robots sound powerful." Mega Man observed. "But what would Dr Wiley want to do with them?"

"Each of these robots have a certain integrated circuit called a 'Cognitive Circuit' or CC. The CC gives the robot a personality, thoughts, and possible simulated emotions; a brain, in short. Dr Wiley plans on taking the CC out of the robots so that they become heartless, unfeeling, and violating the rules of robotics to harm and injure human beings."

"And what do you think we'll do about it?" Nico asked, her suspicion beginning to make her doubt.

"Get rid of Albert." Hikari said bluntly. "But take care not to damage the robots' CC, however, or we may never see them return to their original state.

"Mega Man, you have the ability to copy a robot's main weapon, should you need to do so. Be aware though, you can only use one weapon at a time. Roru, the Multiple Weapon Disposal Device is capable of the same ability, but at a lower degree. The Multiple Weapon Disposal Device can replicate a robot's main weapon, but such as the 'copy and paste' feature on any word processor system, once you copy one robot's weapon, it will override the copied weapon of a previous robot. Be careful, both of you in your overall mission."

"Yes sir." Mega Man said, accepting the order without thought. Nico, however, folded her arms in skepticism, but said nothing.

. . .

Wiley stared at Proto Man as if he was looking at him for the first time. The android had just proposed that he side with the robotist to take Hikari down. But he gave no reason for this proposition, however, and it made Wiley skeptical. Rush was at Wiley's feet, beating his tail back and forth like a normal dog would.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Wiley asked the android once again.

"Why would you?" came the response. For several minutes, the duo were at an impasse.

To interrupt them, a robot with a ninja themed air around him came into the room.

"Sir, we have found what Hikari plans on using another robot to hunt you down." the robot said in a soft, low voice.

"What robot Shadow Man?" Wiley asked, "I have all of his supposed 'failures.'"

"It is a new creation," the robot said, "He calls it Mega Man."

Wiley paused for a moment.

"What did this... Mega Man look like?" the robotist asked. Shadow Man turned to look at Proto Man. Wiley's eyes grew wide.

"No..."

Dr Wiley then turned to Proto Man.

"If you really want to help me, stop Mega Man any way you can. Hikari has gone too far this time!"

"How?" Proto asked.

"Hikari used the blueprints needed to make you to create a new cyborg."

"Yeah, so?"

"He needed a human to make the blueprints a perfect success."

Proto Man looked at Wiley as if he was the one built as a ridiculously human robot. If he could have thrown up, he would have. A human was turned into a robot... as gruesome as it sounded, he (in a way) had a brother now...

Slowly, Proto backed out of the room, and ran away once more in his life. But this time he had a real reason; he had to save his brother.

Wiley stood frozen in his spot, his body trembling. The robotist was in such a deep state of shock that he didn't realize that Rush was heading out the door, shaping to be the writer's Chekhov's gun...


	7. Trust

Mega Man and Nico made their way toward Dr Wiley's hideout, making good time.

"Wasn't it a little odd to you that Dr Hikari wanted us to harm a man we know nothing about?" Nico asked Mega Man.

"We know enough." Mega Man told her.

"But _what_ do we know?" she asked in return. To this, Mega Man did not give a reply, or chose to ignore her. It made her angry either way. In the distance, something rustled in a tree. Nico looked up, making sure she had not just imagined it. Mega Man noticed that she had stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"What's wrong Roru?" he asked curiously, beginning to feel a bit worried.

"I thought I heard something..." she said, unsure of if she had heard something. Mega Man nodded and looked around.

Proto Man hid in a tree far enough from Mega Man and Nico that he couldn't be seen or heard. At first, he couldn't even believe that he saw Nico, of all people, with a creation that could have turned on her and strangle her without thought.

When Mega Man and Nico thought they had heard something, Proto Man wished badly that he had some kind of camouflage system in him. He really didn't want to see either of them face to face. To Mega Man, it would mean destroying a creature that was, in essence, his own brother. To Nico however...

Suddenly, Mega Man's hand transformed into an arm canon similar to the one Proto Man had. The android looked on, fearing that they had found him.

"Wait here." Mega Man told Nico, starting to walk away, armed with his Mega Blaster (as Hikari had dubbed it).

"Why?" Nico asked him, stopping him from going any where. "I can fight too."

"You're not supposed to." Mega Man told her. "Dr Hikari gave you the Multiple Weapon Disposal Device to aid me."

"And that's not the same as fighting with you?" Nico asked, growing quite furious. "I have the power to help you, and you just expect me to stay on the sidelines?"

"Yes." the cyborg told her, then ran off before she could stop him. Nico was fuming. It took all it had in her not to go into a full out tantrum. It was in this state, that she turned around to look at Proto Man, who was hiding in a tree not that far away from her. It was her very angry face that made him fall out of said tree in surprise and fear.

"Landiao?" she asked. Her rage at the moment was blinding her vision a bit, so she wasn't quite sure if that was who she saw or if she was seeing things. It was him, however, and he stepped forward, looking as guilty as a child that was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"Proto Man." Nico then said. "That's who you really are, isn't it?"

Proto looked up at her in surprise.

"How do you-"

"I saw your blueprints."

The android looked at her in a mix of shame and sorrow, then he looked at the ground.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nico then asked. "You were our friend and we trusted you!"

"I was scared!" Proto Man told her. "I know you trusted me, but how could you? I didn't even trust myself!"

Nico looked at him, her anger was slowly mixing into sympathy, but the rage was still prominent. Finally, Proto Man couldn't take the sudden quietness.  
"You're on the wrong side of the war Nico!" Proto blurted. "Hikari doesn't care about the Laws of Robotics or world peace! He's insane!"  
"He saved my friend's life, we owe him." she told him, quite simply enough.  
"With the same blueprints that created me." Proto told her. "Blueprints that wouldn't have worked if a human hadn't sacrificed themselves first. Who ever your friend was didn't realize that Hikari is evil, more evil than what Wiley seems."  
"My friend never made the choice. He was going to die either way." Nico told him, looking in his eyes with hints of remorse flickering in hers. For a moment, Proto looked at her, then something in his data banks flickered back at him like an old movie projector. What he saw made him jump back in shock and surprise.  
"Mega Man is Roch?!"  
Nico nodded, her body beginning to tremble.  
"You didn't know that...?" she asked him in a small voice, all of her rage disappearing and replacing it with a more dizzying feeling. Before he could answer her, a blast from the Mega Blaster just barely missed Proto by a centimeter.  
"Get away from her Proto Man." Mega Man said from a distance, armed to fire again. "I don't want to fight you today, but I can if I have to."  
Proto looked from Mega Man to Nico to Mega Man again. He sneered, then took off on his rocket boots. Nico watched him leave, her mind was swimming from their conversation. So many emotions, not enough time to unveil everything.  
Meanwhile, her words echoed in Proto's mind. Roch was Mega Man... His friend before...  
No. He wasn't going to think about that right now. It was only going to make him short circuit. But maybe Wiley knew more about the situation than what he let on...

"Are you alright Nico?" Mega Man asked, taking a hold of her shoulders as if Proto Man had hypnotized her.

"I'm fine." she said, pushing him off. "Let's just so get to Wiley's hideout so we can end this."

Mega Man looked at her, then nodded before they headed off again.


	8. Captured

Mega Man and Nico continued to make their way toward Dr Wiley's hideout. Both of them were rather silent.

That's when a red robotic dog jumped in their path and wagged its tail eagerly. Mega Man and Nico blinked at it. Then the dog pounced on Mega Man as if he was its long time friend.

"He likes you." Nico said, amused but unfazed. She knew who the dog was, it was the same one that had helped bring Roch to Hikari.

"He thinks I'm Proto Man." Mega Man said, trying (unsuccessfully) to get the dog up off of him.

"How'd you figure?" Nico asked, luring the dog from Mega Man by whistling to it. The dog looked at her and glomped her next. "Because he seems to think he knows both of us pretty well."

Mega Man said nothing, choosing to watch Nico play with the robotic dog as if it was a dog she had raised from its puppy days. He smiled a little at this, but then he noticed something on the dog.

"He can take us to Wiley's hideout!" Mega announced, partially surprised at the revelation. Then he said,

"Rush, transform into Rush Jet."

Immediately, the dog stopped playing with Nico, jumped a little away from her, then extended himself the same way he had when he helped Roch earlier. Nico looked at the dog, then at Mega Man.

"How did you know that he would do that?" she asked. "Better yet, how do you know his name is Rush?"

"Every robot that Dr Hikari and Dr Wiley made (whether it was together or on separate terms) is in my memory banks, even if I've never seen them before."

Nico opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

"Come on." Mega Man told her, hopping onto Rush's stretched back. "We'll get there sooner if we use Rush."

Holding back what she wanted to say, Nico hopped onto Rush's back behind Mega Man and they took off.

In moments, Rush delivered the duo to the entrance of Dr Wiley's hideout but behind a bush so they couldn't be seen. Mega Man and Nico got off of the dog and crouched to see the challenges ahead of them.

"Cut Man, Ice Man, and Fire Man." Mega said, as if he was telling Nico of the robots present to guard the entrance. She didn't care though, she was still mad at him.

Mega Man made his arm cannon appear.

"Stay here." he said, about to go in. Nico held him back.

"No, I'm not staying behind this time." she said. "I'm going in with you whether you like it or not."

"It's too dangerous for me to let you..." Mega Man started to say, but Nico cut him off in saying,

"It's always going to be too dangerous. I'm going too."

Mega Man looked at her, as if just looking at her was going to change her mind. Finally, he sighed.

"Alright." he agreed. "But stay close."

Nico nodded, and the two headed in. They started out fine enough, but a security camera caught them, and soon enough they were in battle. Shots were fired on both sides, not many actually hit, however. Slowly creeping in and out of battle, something was coming toward Nico. By the time Mega Man realized that she had been taken, it was too late to stop them.

...

"Let me go!" Nico said, struggling to get out of the ropes that had been tied around her and kept her bound to an old wood chair.

"Not until Mega Man is destroyed." a man said in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Nico asked. The man stepped out, with Proto Man by his side.

"My name is Dr Wiley, my dear." the man said. "And I'm sure you're well acquainted with Proto Man already."

Nico and Proto Man exchanged a glance, but said nothing to each other. Neither of them knew what to say. No matter what they could have said to each other, it would have been taken the wrong way, so they just stared at each other.

Dissatisfied with how the kids did not exchange some sort of banter toward each other, Wiley said,

"Let's begin our little game. Shall we?"

"You won't get anything out of me Dr Wiley!" Nico told him.

"What do I want from you?" the robotist asked. Nico's face grew pale but also got very angry at the same time. The result of whatever emotion her face was trying to portray was terrifying.

"If you hurt Roch, so help me God I will murder you with my own-"

"Whoa there girlie," Wiley said, surprised at her sudden uproar, "I don't plan on hurting the cyborg."

"Then what are you going to do?!" Nico shouted.

"I only want to modify your friend, just a little bit." Wiley said calmly, as if it would calm her as well. It did nothing of the sort.

"You even touch Roch, I'll murder you!" Nico screamed. Wiley looked at her, not sure whether he should say something more on the matter or not.

"Dear child..." Wiley then said in a soft tone that seemed out of place in his voice, "Would you like to hear a story about the origin of madness?"

Nico looked at him. She didn't give a response, but she sat still in preparation to listen regardless. Not that she was going to listen too hard any way...


	9. Origin of Madness

Dr Wiley started to pace back and forth in front of the restrained Nico. She watched him with no interest or like.

"What are your opinions of my old partner, Dr Thomas Hikari?" Wiley asked.

"Better than the ones I have for you." she said.

"And what do you know about me?" the robotist asked her.

"I know that you stole many of Hikari's older projects and turned them into cold and unfeeling robots."

"You mean to say, you believe that I am removing their cognitive circuits? Well, if that is all Thomas told you, then it would be correct. I did remove the CC from the robots I recovered from Thomas's scrap heap. And I'm sure that you wonder why."

"Not really." Nico said, actually surprised at how much she didn't care right now. "But I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"

Dr Wiley made a gruff sound, as if discomforted or amused. Proto Man continued to stay where he was, not daring to come between Nico if she was in a sour mood. And he hadn't even known her for that long.

"Regardless," Dr Wiley continued, "I had known Thomas for a long time. We were in the same robotic college, you know. When I first met him, however, he was a family man. Oh yes, many people have forgotten the little family Thomas had thirty years ago. They were a beautiful family too; a pair of twin boys, a daughter, and his wife. Thomas's wife, Alia, was such a beautiful woman. If she wasn't married to Thomas when I first met her, I would have had the honor myself."

Nico raised an eyebrow. Even Proto Man couldn't quite believe what was coming out of the robotist's mouth.

"But Thomas's family was short lived." Wiley continued. "One could take in the death of Alia... but the loss of Lan, Hub, and Mayl? Three young lives with so much potential... gone with ashes in the wind.

"After that, there was a... a change in Thomas, to say the least. He desired to create robots that were human, almost perfectly. He asked me to help him with the first robots, each given certain personalities and jobs to accomplish as their goals in life. Rush was the first robot we created that was nearly identical to the living being it was based off of, in Rush's case; a dog. But Thomas always saw a flaw, so he was always building more and more into the creation's hardware. That was when we started working on the 'Robot Masters' project, which resulted in the failed Proto Man, and the successful Mega Man."

Proto Man did not take too kindly at these choice of words, and glared at Wiley. Nico wasn't too appreciative of Wiley's wording either.

"Proto isn't flawed or a failure." she said. Wiley and Proto looked at her.

"And what makes you say that?" Wiley asked, scoffing at her.

"I saw his blueprints." she said, as if the answer was simple. "Proto has an aging protocol, but his weapon systems conflict with it. Glitching and shorting out when doing mundane human activities is just a response of the two conflicting with each other."

Wiley and Proto Man looked at Nico with equally shocked and amazed looks.

"How do you know that?" Wiley asked.

"How do I not know that?" Nico asked back.

Wiley continued to stare at her. Some how, in some way, Proto felt exposed, like a human that was caught nude on a photo used for blackmail. They _were_ talking about him after all.

"But what about you?" Nico asked. "What's your reason for ripping out a robot's personality? Without a CC, the robots will be cold and lifeless. They'll have no regrets, no sense of conscience or right and wrong. They'd be the perfect killers. Why would you do that to them? Why would you do that to the humans?"

"Because computers were not meant to have a personality." he said, his tone becoming low and all emotion leaving his face. "Do you remember darling, that, at the turn of the century, computers were only simple aids to our lives? They didn't think for themselves or show a lack of interest or disinterest in what you were doing to them. Five years ago, all of this changed. The world wanted robots that could think and act on their own will. The world wanted human sized robots that could clean the house or mind the kids like a nanny. Hell, they were even asking for robots that could be better sex partners than a human could.

Robots are computers child. They were not meant to have personalities or thoughts or emotions. But the world is changing, and I do not intend for them to be greater than what it is now. Thomas's robots are the only ones of their kind, there are no other robots like them in the world. Get rid of what is special to them, no one will want them."

"But why?" Nico asked, not seeing the point. She took a glance at Proto Man. When she and Roch first met him, they didn't know that he was different. Even in the events that transpired between the three of them, she wouldn't have taken it back. She loved him.

Wiley opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden crash through the wall. Everyone turned their attention to Mega Man, who had been the one to crash through the wall.

"Let her go!" Mega demanded, aiming the blaster at Wiley's head.

"You'll have to get through me first." Proto Man said, speaking up for the first time since Nico had been captured.

"Fine." Mega Man said in a dark tone before taking the first shot.


	10. Black Sun

"Why... won't... you... die?!" Mega Man shouted at Proto Man, the two in a heated battle.

"Why do you obey Hikari?!" Proto Man asked in return. "He's using you. Can't you see it? You don't have free will Mega Man! Everything you have done was what Hikari wanted you to do!"

"Listen to him Roch!" Nico said from the sidelines. Mega Man looked from Nico to Proto Man. Why would she side with him, the clear enemy?

"You still have your own free will Roch, why can't you overcome what Hikari has done to you?" Nico asked.

Mega Man ceased fire, and in turn, Proto did as well. There, Mega thought about it. Everything he had done until that point, was it truly his own directive? True, Hikari was the one that gave the idea, but was he the sole decision maker at this point? The more Mega Man thought about it, the more it seemed to fry his circuits. He was in control of his thoughts and emotions, was he not? So he was in charge of his will too... right?

"You and I share the same blueprints." Proto Man said. "I am perfect in every sense of the word 'human.' How come you're not?"

No. No, no, no, NO!

In a quick moment of lucid thought, Mega Man ran to Nico, freed her, and the two escaped on foot away from Wiley's hideout and back to Hikari's laboratory.

"You have to go after them." Wiley said, cowering in a corner. "It only takes one order... and she's gone."

Proto Man turned to look at the old man, cowering as if he was just a child, and had no pity for him.

"Why do you care?" the android asked calmly before simply walking away.

. . .

"Is it true?!" Mega Man demanded to his creator. Hikari stroked his beard, appearing the be in deep thought.

"Yes." the neck-bearded robotist agreed. "It is true."

"Why?" Mega Man thundered. "Why would you make me believe that I had free will when all along you were just... controlling me, like a freaking puppet?!"

"It was because of the family he lost." Nico said quietly. "He couldn't control their outcome, and he couldn't control Proto Man, so when he reconstructed your body, he made sure that he could control you."

Hikari looked at her, something in his eyes seemed to snap in rage.

"Who told you about them?" he hissed. Nico just looked at him.

"They're gone now Dr Hikari." she told him. "No one can replace them and no one ever will. You need to either give up, or just die."

Hikari snarled at her as something in his mind snapped.

"Kill her!" the robotist shouted in rage.

Without control, Mega Man aimed the Mega Blaster right at Nico, Mega Man closed his eyes, not wanting to see what was to happen next.  
Seeing that the Mega Blaster had gone off, Nico raised the MWDD in self defense, causing the device to produce a shield. But the shield could not compare to the force that the blast had, damaging the shield and causing a force still strong enough to cause an open bone fracture on Nico's forearm. Nico screamed in pain, falling to the ground. Blood was coming from the open fracture like a leaking water facet. Looking at it made everyone in the room sick to their stomachs. But seeing this also fueled Hikari's madness.

"Shoot her Mega Man!" Hikari shouted, almost happily in a mad way. "Obey your programming, shoot her!"  
"Don't do it Roch," Nico told him, holding onto her arm as blood continued to bleed from the wound, "You're more than just a robot that follows orders, you're a human with free will! Use it! Resist Dr Hikari's commands!"  
Mega Man looked from Hikari to Nico. He knew the laws, but could the human side of his joined mind override them? He didn't know, but it made his brain power overwork again, making the pain even more intense as he thought about it.  
"Do it." Hikari demanded, his voice getting low and more dangerous. "You know your master!"  
Mega Man held his head in pain, lowering the Mega Blaster aimed at Nico, and fell to the floor on his knees. Too many thoughts... too many orders... too many laws...  
Suddenly, a crash came from the roof and into the room.  
"Proto Man!" Nico said, surprised, but a bit happy as well. Hikari growled.  
"Get away from here you freak!" Hikari shouted.  
"Oh, don't worry, I will." Proto Man said, "But before I do, I want you to know that I won't stop until the world is safe from your insane creations and ideas."  
"Albert is no better than I, why should I be your target?" Hikari asked, giving a sly maniac smile.  
"I didn't say you were my only target." Proto Man told him bitterly. "After I bring you down, Wiley is next."  
"Kill your creators... what a fucking perfect creation you are..." Hikari muttered. "I never gave you that ability, you flawed mistake."  
Proto Man sneered at the robotist, then looked at Mega Man.  
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to break his conditioning on you brother." he said. Proto Man looked at Nico, then carefully held onto her side. Together, they left Hikari's laboratory through the same hole in the ceiling Proto had made with his entrance. Mega Man looked at that hole and held back tears that he could not trace the origin of. Hikari looked at the hole in the ceiling as well and sneered. He then turned to looked at Mega Man.  
"Get into that status pod!" Hikari ordered. It was a simple order, and Mega Man complied without hesitation. But once he was in the pod, he found that he could not move.


	11. On the Brink of Nothing

Proto Man took Nico to the smallest island in New Eden, and there he looked at her arm more closely.  
"Don't touch it." Nico whimpered without meaning to. "It hurts... a lot."  
Proto looked at her and nodded, then looked back at the wound. When he had a good inspection, he looked at her with a deep amount of fury in his eyes.  
"Who did this to you?" he snapped. Nico refused to look at him, but her lack of answer was as good as any answer to him.  
"This is what you get for trusting Hikari, Nico! I told you that something like this would happen, you're lucky at this point that you're not..."  
Nico looked at Proto Man as he trailed off. She was ashamed, but she felt more bad for him than anyone.  
"You can't hurt him." Nico told him. "He's my friend. He's your friend."  
"I wasn't going to. It's Hikari's fault... and mine."  
Nico looked at him, a little bit confused. Proto Man picked up on this.  
"If it wasn't for me, Roch would not have become Mega Man and we wouldn't be in this situation."  
"That wasn't your fault." Nico told him, about to cry in pain or sympathy. She couldn't tell which.  
"No, it's Hikari's and Wiley's." Proto said darkly. "If it wasn't for them, I would have never been built, then all of this could have been avoided. The world is going into something dark and horrible, and Hikari is still making machines while Wiley uses them to danger others. I may still glitch when introduced to simple human activities, but it's not going to stop me from doing what I feel is right. I was given a free will, independent of the Three Laws while still having an understanding of them, and I don't plan on the intuition to go to waste."  
Suddenly, a rush of pain went up Nico's arm, making her howl in pain. Proto Man instantly reacted and embraced her, in some slim hope that it would make her feel better. It did, but then again it didn't, he only became a living punching bag to her pain. Except she was clawing at him, like a cat, but it hurt all the same.  
"But I'm not going to leave you behind though." he told her, continuing what he had been saying. "After you're better, I'll take the MWDD to Wiley so he can remove the tracking chip and anything else that might work on Hikari's side, and then you can live your life the way you want."  
"I want to break whatever conditioning Hikari has over my friend." Nico told him, looking him right in the eye. Proto nodded, understanding.  
"For now though," he said, "We rest."  
Nico nodded, but still skeptical of what was to come to her friend.

. . .

Mega Man watched as Dr Hikari looked over his blueprints for a new robot. The cyborg grimaced, but could not voice an opinion on the matter.  
"You were just the beginning Mega." Hikari told him, almost absentmindedly, "These next line of robots will be unstoppable. Not even Albert can defeat them!"  
Dr Hikari turned to look at Mega Man. The cyborg looked back him, the status pod preventing him to move or respond.  
"Don't worry, I'm sure where ever your little friend went, she is safe. Or dead. It doesn't matter, she will be either way..."  
The corner of Mega Man's mouth twitched, desperately wanting to say some very unkind words at the moment. Hikari seemed to have some enjoyment out of this.  
"And your brother, Proto Man, he thinks he can go 'save the world' by himself. But he is still flawed, it won't take long before he too is incapacitated."  
Dr Hikari smiled a little and gave a light chuckle.  
"It won't be long now, Mega Man," Hikari said, starting to walk away to the building room, "It won't be long until the world knows and understands the meaning of Hikari!"  
They were all perfect. Robots with powers beyond a normal being's imagination. Robots with weapons that were more deadly than a nuclear or atomic bomb. Dr Hikari looked at these robots in their neatly placed rows, understanding and admiring the pure destruction they could cause if given the wrong programming.  
It was a beautiful idea. He was in control of all of them.  
The world would never see them coming.


End file.
